Breakdown of Lubię gotowanie, gdy mam czas wolny.
mieć
to have
lubić
to like
gdy
when (conjunction, = kiedy, more written)
czas wolny
free time
gotowanie
cooking
Questions & Answers about Lubię gotowanie, gdy mam czas wolny.
Why is it gotowanie here instead of the infinitive gotować?
Both are perfectly correct! You can say lubię gotować (I like to cook) or lubię gotowanie (I like cooking). Gotowanie is a verbal noun (a noun created from a verb). It acts exactly like an English "-ing" noun. Most Polish verbs ending in -ać form this noun by dropping the -ć and adding -nie.
What case is gotowanie in?
It is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb lubię (I like). Because gotowanie is a neuter noun ending in -e (like all verbal nouns), its accusative form looks exactly the same as its nominative (dictionary) form.
Can I use kiedy instead of gdy here?
Absolutely. Kiedy and gdy both mean "when" and are completely interchangeable in this type of sentence. Gdy is just slightly shorter and sometimes feels a tiny bit more formal, but it is widely used in everyday conversation.
Adjectives usually come before nouns. Why is it czas wolny instead of wolny czas?
In Polish, a descriptive adjective goes before the noun (like nowy samochód - a new car), but a classifying adjective goes after the noun. Because "free time" is a specific, established category of time, wolny is placed after the noun. It creates a set phrase. However, in casual speech, you might still hear people say wolny czas.
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